New goals, new approaches

Somehow it’s Tuesday already, which means it’s time for the weekly review of progress and some new goal setting. I feel pretty good for the progress made last week and the next set of goals will present some new challenges.

Firstly, the not so serious challenges I’ll need to overcome that could be best described as “First world temporarily stuck in a wheelchair problems”

• Not taking my phone anywhere near the bathroom, either on purpose or accidentally. It only ends in requiring 1kg of rice and my parents organising a new phone. Thanks Dad.
• Not eating everything that my friends bring. If I eat every piece of chocolate that comes through my door, I’ll still need the wheelchair to leave here.
• Not trying to throw anything while sitting in a wheelchair. It only ends in near disaster because all my weight gets pushed through my leg out front. Next stop, on the floor. Lucky save last time, not to be repeated!
• Overcoming my reluctance to like RnB music. Circa July 2015 when Nikki and I were driving in Europe blaring her best RnB playlist, there was a mutual understanding that it wasn’t my favourite genre. Fast forward to every Friday here at the Epworth and I’m stuck with a solid 3 hours listening to Fox FM (pop radio station) “RnB Friday”.

  

For the record, I haven’t loved it. More accurate to say I’m learning to like it, very slowly. Hope you’re proud Nik.

On a slightly more serious note, then there’s the physio :) I spoke to my new physio Chris about my goals during this afternoon’s session. Chris has been with the Epworth for 3 years, for the most part working with rehab outpatients. I think inpatients present with both physical and emotional goals that Tim was great at handling so I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes over the next few weeks.

My new goals are:

• Be able to stand on my left leg (Physio goal)
• Be able to start hydrotherapy (Physio goal)
• Be able to stand at a counter to prepare food/drink (OT goal)

These goals aren’t limited to this week as they’re dependent on a few factors. The standing goal is dependent on pain management and the hydrotherapy goal is dependent on my wounds healing so that I can go into the pool. I’m SO excited to be able to go for a swim soon, there are no words to describe how stoked I’ll be to get in the pool. Swimming is always something I’ve loved doing and i’m looking forward to making it a big part of my rehab. :)

I think it’s timely for me to also write about my experience with speaking up. Another disclaimer to not stress, this is just what’s on my mind. I’ve had a few different scenarios in the past three weeks, some that have been somewhat out of character for me, and they’ve all been a big learning curve.

Becoming a blogger, sort of

Writing this blog has been a great way for me to share my thoughts and day to day progress with a really broad audience, from my best friends through to my parents and their extended friends and colleagues. Writing down what’s on my mind has really helped to structure my thoughts and gives me a sense of closure once something happens. Whether it’s making great progress or a bad appointment (cough, last Friday), the blog allows me to express myself and it helps others to get a feel for what’s going on. The thought of writing about what’s on my mind would seem ridiculous in everyday life so I think i’m building a bit more confidence by writing it.

I think I’ve benefited most from being able to share my thoughts with close family, particularly since it’s not always easy to bring this up in daily phone calls. My parents have been totally understanding and it has really helped all of us to find a balance in how much time and effort they spend being here for me. Dad does a great single day visit quite frequently, whereas it’s really nice that Mum comes down for extended visits, returns to Sydney and then comes back to Melbourne for another extended visit. It means more to me because I can share bigger progress steps that I’ll often lose sight of. The progress can seem so small to me until they say “last time I saw you, you couldn’t do that”. Dad came down on the weekend and gave me a push around the park - thanks Dad :)

Mum comes down today, which I’m really looking forward to because I get regular company and we get to hang out and chat - quality mother/daughter time. I think the accident has made us all a bit closer and we’re all on the same page because we’re able to speak about what’s on our minds.

Corridor conversations

I’m really lucky to be surrounded by some great people here at the Epworth. Ghita, my Alfred/Epworth ward buddy, has become a great friend and supporter. The nurses here are never short of a laugh and offer so much care, all the time. The other patients share their experiences and challenges, which really puts things in perspective and allows us to talk freely about what we’re trying to overcome. All these people and conversations provide an opportunity to speak up about what’s going on and it all really helps to keep focused on the end goal but also to enjoy the time here and make the most of it.

And then there’s the left leg weight bearing…

My last post had a little bit of emotion attached to it (in case you didn’t notice) and for a while there I was a bit embarrassed that I’d been so upset by the appointment. Despite this, I’ve been able to realise there is a benefit in speaking up when things don’t seem right. I’m often inclined to just go with the flow and take all advice on board, particularly when it comes from the doctors, but this time I went with my gut and spoke up about my concerns. It turns out it was worth it!

Since returning to the Epworth on Friday afternoon, I’ve had a series of discussions with my care team - doctors, physios, nurses and OT. Interestingly there have been varied responses to the decision to let me weight bear so I don’t feel like I was out of line to question their decision. Dr Patten, one of the senior doctors here, paid me a visit this morning and said she is concerned about the weight bearing and has advised to go very slowly - the bone would not be healed and putting pressure is only going to result in a lot of pain, as I found out yesterday. I’m fortunate to be able to get a second opinion from the Epworth and I’m relieved to get the support of the doctors in making the decision to take it easy. In her words, they’re not expecting miracles, so it’s a big relief for me.

Lastly, I saw my x-rays for the first time on Monday, eek. I might share them up here soon :)